The Truth Hurts
by Pure-soul
Summary: This is my first fic so plz go easy!!^^(I'm bad at summaries) After 4 long years, Chihiro and Haku reunite, but trouble follows them everywhere......
1. Thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot. Everything else belongs to Hayao Miyazaki. Here we go~! ***************************** The Truth Hurts *****************************  
  
Chihiro fluttered her eyes open. She saw nothing but darkness. Before she blacked out again, a single word escaped her mouth. "Haku."  
  
**************(Change of time and place)************************************** '4 years. Has it really been 4 years since I last saw you?' thought Chihiro as she laid her head on the window railing. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't cry in school and embarrass herself in front of everyone else.  
  
She thought about Haku's beautiful and handsome face. Oh- how she longed to see his soft, clear, emerald eyes, staring down at her. 'I wonder how Haku has changed.'Chihiro thought about this a million times. She herself had changed a lot. Her face has lost its childish roundness and was now slender and at a beautiful angle. Her hair was now grown down her shoulders, and although most of the time she put it in a ponytail, with her beautiful purple hair band, she developed a sense of style and wore them in different styles. Other then her school uniform, she usually wore the same clothes as she wore on the day she first ventured into the spirit world. But you could tell that she had a nice body boys wanted. Her legs were now a beautiful, feminine, slender shape, and they balance every part of her body. For the past few years, boys have been asking her out, but she brusquely said no. She knew she couldn't even force herself to date.  
  
She sighed and started banging her head on the railing. She knew some of her classmates were looking at her with curious stares, but she didn't care. She felt stupid just sitting in school while all her spirit friends could be working hard and accomplishing SOMETHING.  
  
*BANG*  
  
*BANG*  
  
*BANG*  
  
"C-Chihiro?"  
  
*BANG*  
  
After one last banging on the railing, she looked up at her new friend Reema. "Are you OK??" asked her friend. 'NO! Do I look OK to you??!!' she wanted to yell but she shouldn't get mad at her friend who didn't know anything about what she was going through. She forced a small smile and answered, "Yeah. I'm OK. Just too excited about summer vacation, I guess."  
  
Reema rolled her eyes and said, "Going hiking again?" in a teasing voice. Chihiro smiled a small, small smile. She had been looking for the entrance to the spirit world for 2 years and finally found it. The problem was, she was a little bit scared but also worried if she should go into the tunnel. So for 2 years, she thought about it and always lingered at the entrance. Everyday she would climb the long road, stare at the entrance for hours, and always return. Sometimes, she nearly went in. But then, she would stop herself and think, 'No. Haku promised. He will come to me. I believe in him."  
  
But even though she thought these, sometimes she had doubts. She hated to admit it, but she sometimes thought that Haku would never return. 'He deserves so much better than me.. He's a god, (no matter how minor) I'm just a human. He's brave, I'm a coward. He's powerful, (mentally and physically), and I'm not. I hate myself'  
  
But she hated herself more for thinking these things.  
  
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Haku sighed and walked towards Yubbaba's office. '4 years. FOOOUUUUR YEARS!!!!!!' he thought to himself as he looked for a wall to bang his head on. He found a nice little spot but stopped himself. 'No. If I'm late, Yubbaba will go furious. And I can't miss my chance to reunite with Chihiro after four years.' He sighed again and walked up to Yubbaba's door, and knocked.  
  
"Come in," said Yubbaba's voice. Haku prepared himself and walked in. Yubbaba didn't even look up from her paper work. "Sit down, Haku." she said, barely glancing up. Haku hesitantly sat himself down on the chair across from Yubbaba. He wanted her to hurry up, but he knew he shouldn't make her angrier than she was now.  
  
After a few minutes, Haku's impatience got to him and he coughed, reminding Yubbaba of who was in front of her. "I know, Haku." was what Yubbaba answered to his cough, "You are just dying for me to free you after the four years you had on your contract."  
  
Haku nodded. After Chihiro left, he had a talk with Yubbaba and had made a deal that if he stayed for 4 years, that she can be free after that. Today made it the day of his freedom, and he was not particularly patient that day.  
  
Yubbaba sighed and snapped her fingers, showing Haku's contract. "Would you like to rip it up? Or should I do the honors?" asked Yubbaba sarcastically. Haku did not laugh, but smirked, and the contract ripped itself up. Haku could not help but smile. He hadn't smiled at all for all those years.  
  
He jumped out of his chair, remembered his manners, bowed down low and said, "Thank you, Yubbaba."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, now go to your beloved Chihiro." answered Yubbaba with a wave of her hands.  
  
Haku grinned and practically skipped out of the office.  
  
He would finally reunite with his beloved.  
  
************************************************* Thanks for reading!! Please R&R! It's my first fic so go easy! ^^ 


	2. Reunited

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. Everything else, (Chihiro, Haku, Yubbaba, etc.) are all owned by the great Hayao Miyazaki. I am very lazy; so don't blame me if this chappie is short.  
  
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Chihiro looked at the dirt path in front of her. School was finally out and she could spend more hours at the tunnel. She started walking. She was wearing the same clothes as on the first time at the spirit world, and had a small backpack flung over her shoulders. In her backpack contained the usual stuff she always had. A small flashlight, a few snacks, and a bottle of water. She always brought these 'cause she never knew when she would change her mind about going through the tunnel.  
  
She kept walking, now the road was so familiar to her, she could find the tunnel blindfolded. She went over to the little shrines at the side and bowed a small bow and smiled. She had worshiped, from the day at the spirit world, anything that was told that consisted of any spirits. She continued on her way and after a few minutes, she passed by the statue to her right. That statue still spooked her. She glanced at it, kept her head low, and walked on by.  
  
When she reached the tunnel and the statue in front of it, she sat down and laid her bag down. She stared at the tunnel. It was so dark. The wind pulled her toward the entrance, swishing her ponytail hair inwards. She thought for a minute. She remembered Lin, Kamajji, baby, (even) Yubbaba, Zeniba, and..Haku. She remembered their faces, their voices, and what they might say to her if she returned now.  
  
"Sen! You're back!!!!" she could imagine Lin would say. "Sen!" baby, on account of his limited vocabulary, would say. "Hmph! What are you doing here?" she could here Yubbaba's voice. "Chihiro! How have you been?" Zeniba would ask. And. Haku.would say.. Thinking of Haku made her heart ache in pain.  
  
Chihiro looked back up and stared at the tunnel. Something told her to go in. Unlike the other days, it seemed like a powerful force was telling her to go in, and take a risk. She thought about the consequences. She might have to make a deal with Yubbaba again. Lin, Kamajji, and Haku would probably help. If she made a deal.. 'Hmmm.' thought Chihiro carefully. 'I know! I could make a deal with Yubbaba to stay in the spirit world for the summer! Perfect!' The plan seemed flawless. She got to stay in the bathhouse and still work to pay it off. The only thing that caught her mind was Haku. What if he didn't like her anymore? What if he still liked her, but not the way she felt about her? These thoughts made Chihiro want to cry. 'No.' she thought, 'even if he doesn't love me, I need to see him, or I think I'll die of my heart ache.'  
  
Chihiro went over her plan again, and stood up. She picked up her backpack, flung it over her shoulder, and faced the tunnel. She looked behind her, over her shoulders. She thought again. 'Be brave, Chihiro.' she told herself. She took a deep breath and took a step into the tunnel. As she slowly went through the tunnel, hearing nothing but her footsteps, she picked up her speed. 'Weird. I don't remember the tunnel being so long'  
  
Soon after, she looked up and saw that the end of the tunnel was still far away from her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the entrance was much nearer than the end of the tunnel. She gulped and broke into a run. She ran and ran for what seemed like hours, and looked up to see that she was only halfway through the tunnel even after her long run.  
  
Now she found herself sprinting toward the exit, and after what seemed like more hours, she reached the exit. Huffing and puffing, she panted and forced herself to run out to the field. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she caught the sight of the field. She missed it so much! Judging by where the sun was, she could tell that it would be night in a few minutes. She ran all the way to the filled river, crossed it, and found her way to the bridge that lead to the bathhouse. Huffing and panting, she caught sight of the enormous building. It hadn't changed a bit. She felt so happy and so dizzy at the same time. She realized that she had run all the way from the entrance to the bridge. But she didn't care. She was so happy to see the bathhouse. And dizzy at the same time. She still panted, and felt her legs weaken. Then, her world went black.  
  
*************************************************  
  
Haku practically ran out of Yubbaba's office. He should tell Lin and Kamajji the good news first, but he didn't have the patience. He had waited for this moment for four years now. He couldn't help but grin, thinking happily about how he would take Chihiro into his arms, the moment he saw her.  
  
Then, his happy thoughts were crushed when his thoughts struck him. How the hell was he going to find Chihiro?? For all he knew, she could be on another continent right now!!! Haku began to slow down and thought for a few minutes. Then, he came to a conclusion. He would have to ask Zeniba for help. He didn't particularly like the idea, but hey, he had no choice. Besides, he was pretty sure Zeniba would help him, anything involving Chihiro would probably encourage her to.  
  
As he thought all of this, he didn't pay attention to where he was going and bumped into someone. He heard the other person fall on his butt as he did also.  
  
"Agh! I'm s-" Haku started, but stopped when he saw who it was. Instead of apologizing, he quickly came to his feet and smirked. It was Koji who was also scrambling up and frowning.  
  
"Watch where you're going, Dragon boy!!" yelled Koji. "I think you should be the one who should watch where you're going." said Haku even though he knew it was his fault. But he was not going to admit that to his archrival.  
  
Koji came to the Bathhouse a month after Chihiro left. He just barged into Yubbaba's office and asked to be her apprentice. From that day on, he had become Yubbaba's second apprentice and Haku's rival.  
  
Not only a rival of apprentices (?), but also a rival of popularity and worship ness. Haku was considered the most handsome guy in the bathhouse until Koji came. Koji had some traits that considered him handsome. He had spiky dark brunette hair that went to his neck and warm looking brown eyes. He had just about the same body trait as Haku, which made all girls drool. Sure, Haku didn't care who was more handsome, but being handsome earned him his respect in the bathhouse. Obviously, the girls gave him respect along with admiring, and the guys wanted to be like him, so, they gave him respect. Now, Haku lost some of his respect and did not try to lose anymore. He hated Koji, and Haku was positive Koji hated him.  
  
"Looks like we're in a big hurry, eh?" teased Koji. "Oh, let me see. today makes it your last fourth year, so I guess you're now going back to this beloved Chihiro I keep hearing about."  
  
Haku wanted to rip his mouth out. He had such a mocking tone that made his calmness disappear. 'Calm down, Haku. This is just the way he wants you to react. Besides, you don't have time for him.'  
  
Haku smirked and replied, "You guessed right. I didn't know you paid attention that much. Now, I'd love to chitchat, but I must be leaving. Some people that have a beloved are busy."  
  
He walked by, but grinned at how Koji's expression must look right now.  
  
'If I go to Swamp Bottom now, I could probably make it back tonight.' thought Haku as he made it to the nearest balcony. He looked outside. It was raining hard, but he didn't care. He quickly changed into his dragon form and flew off into the sky.  
  
He didn't fly so high and as he looked down at his surroundings, he spotted something near the bridge.  
  
There, at the other end of the bridge was a small figure. The figure was so familiar Haku slowed down a bit and flew a little lower.  
  
'Wait. I know that figure.' Haku gasped (if dragons can) when he saw who it was. 'Chihiro!!! CHIHIRO!!!'  
  
Haku quickly flew to her. As he landed, he turned into his normal form. "Chihiro!" he yelled and ran to her.  
  
He knelt down beside her and put her head on his lap. He started shaking her, in an attempt to wake her. "Chihiro! Chihiro! Please wake up!" She was unconscious. Her body was cold, but her head was burning hot. 'Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, Oh god.' was all Haku could think.  
  
Haku quickly carried Chihiro and ran across the bridge, toward the bathhouse. He ran like there was no tomorrow. For him, there will be none if Chihiro wasn't alive.  
  
He ran up the stairs, thankful that no one was in the hallway, and ran into his room. Well, not entirely his room.. Koji was there.  
  
***************Flashback****************  
  
"WHAT?! I CANNOT SHARE A ROOM WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Koji and Haku.  
  
Yubbaba glared at her two apprentices for their loudness.  
  
"And just why not?"  
  
"I HATE HIM!!!" again, both Koji and Haku chorused at the same time.  
  
"Hmm. let's see. you're both my apprentice, you're both male. I don't see any other reason for you to complain. Besides, you should be lucky you even get a room only with one person. The other workers share a room with at least 25 people." said Yubbaba, using her "case closed" voice.  
  
***************************************  
  
Koji blinked a few times. He was surprised to see a soaking Haku, who by the way, was in a hurry to get out of the bathhouse, carrying a pretty little girl, who appeared to be unconscious.  
  
Haku panted but ran over to his bed and laid Chihiro there. He quickly put a blanket over her, still ignoring a surprised Koji.  
  
Koji smirked and asked, "And who is this pretty little angle?"  
  
Normally, Haku would have strangled Koji right then, and there, but he was in a hurry.  
  
"Get Lin." was all Haku said.  
  
"What? You know I don't take orders from y-"  
  
"KOJI, YOU *censor*, SHUT YOUR FREAKING MOUTH AND GET LIN!!!!!!!!"  
  
Koji blinked again. Haku's voice was so mixed with anger, sadness, desperate that he went outside and looked for Lin.  
  
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Thanks for reading! ^^ Review~!! 


	3. Introductions

Disclaimer: HA! I wish! It'd be great if I owned Spirited Away, so Haku and Chihiro can be together, but I don't!!!!! Hayao Miyazaki owns it!!!!! I only own the PLOT!!!! @.@  
  
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Haku squeezed Chihiro's cold hands tightly.'Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase be all right, Chihiro. If you don't pull it through, I'll kill myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'  
  
Soon, a panting Lin and a bored looking Koji came into the room.  
  
"Sen!!!" yelled Lin as she ran to the girl lying on the bed.  
  
"Oh migod, Haku! What happened?" inquired Lin.  
  
"I found her at the other end of the bridge, unconscious."  
  
"Oh god, oh god." said Lin as she checked Chihiro's forehead. "She's burning. Looks like she got a major cold. I'll go get some water and a towel."  
  
With that, Lin left, leaving a still bored Koji and a sad looking Haku.  
  
Koji coughed and said, in a very teasing voice, "So, this must be your sweetie Chihiro since you seem so concerned~. I can see why you like her, though. She's a thing of a beauty."  
  
Haku lunged at Koji and lifted him by his collar.  
  
"If you speak of Chihiro that way again," Haku yelled through gritted teeth, "you are dying in my hands. You hear me?!"  
  
Koji smirked. He had always thrown bad remarks at Haku and never got the reaction he wanted. But now, he had Haku where he wanted. "Why? Is she yours? I don't see your name on her."  
  
At that moment, Haku was about to punch Koji in the face, but Lin came in. Haku dropped Koji and faced Lin, who ignored the scene she saw, and put a cold cloth on Chihiro's forehead.  
  
"That should help." said Lin. "Now all we can do is hope. She better wake up soon. I can't wait to talk to her."  
  
'Yeah.' thought Haku 'Think how much I want to.'  
  
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Chihiro blinked a few times. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the light.  
  
'What happened?' thought Chihiro. 'The last thing I remember, I was at the bridge, and then.'  
  
Chihiro sat up a tiny bit, and looked around.  
  
Lin was crouched at a corner on the floor and silently sleeping, there was a boy around her age that she couldn't recognize, sleeping on another bed at the other side of the room (Haku and Koji tried to stay out of as much as contact as possible^^), and there was Haku sleeping in a chair beside her, his head on the edge of the bed. He was holding her hands.  
  
Chihiro was so glad to see Haku, she thought about waking him, but thought better and decided to let him sleep.  
  
But, to Chihiro's happiness, Haku stirred, and opens his eyes, looked up at Chihiro in the eye, and suddenly screamed, "Chihiro!!!!!!" waking everyone else in the room. Before Chihiro could say or do anything, Haku suddenly hugged Chihiro. This was a shock to everyone, even Chihiro, for Haku has never let out his emotion, especially in action, so quickly and suddenly.  
  
"H-haku.." whispered Chihiro, out of happiness.  
  
Lin coughed suddenly; waking Chihiro and Haku out of their happy trance, and making Haku quickly let go of Chihiro and blush, looking down at the floor.  
  
"Sen!!" yelled Lin who also hugged Chihiro.  
  
"Hi Lin." said Chihiro who smiled.  
  
"What is it? Why are you here? Not that I don't want you here, but." Lin started blabbing, so Chihiro cut her off.  
  
"Well, I missed the bathhouse and everyone so much that I decided to work here for the summer."  
  
Lin shrieked a happy shriek and hugged Chihiro again. Haku suddenly looked happy, and smiled. He was happy that Chihiro was going to be with him for months, and also relieved that he didn't have to deal with the human world.  
  
A cough was heard behind Lin and Haku. They turned around to see an interested looking Koji.  
  
"So," started Koji, eyeing Chihiro, "aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?"  
  
Chihiro blinked, before realizing that she was the lovely friend. Lin rolled her eyes while Haku growled under his breath. Nobody was introducing Chihiro, so she said, "Hi! My name's Chihiro! Who are you?"  
  
Koji smiled and answered, "Hello! My name's Koji. I'm Yubbaba's second apprentice!"  
  
Then, quite suddenly, Koji leaned down to Chihiro's head, and pecked very lightly on Chihiro's cheek. Chihiro blushed, while Lin was holding back a ferocious Haku who tried to strangle Koji.  
  
"Well!" said Lin who was still holding Haku back "I think that was quite enough of an introduction. Why don't we go to sleep now?"  
  
Lin pushed Koji back toward his bed, who reluctantly turned, but turned back to Chihiro and gave her a wink that made her turn red. Lin stood in front of Haku to prevent him from lunging at Koji. Then, when Haku had cooled off enough, Lin said goodnight and went back to her room. Chihiro began to stand up from the bed, but Haku stopped her and said, "No. You can take the bed."  
  
Chihiro was about to argue, but Haku got himself a blanket, put it on the ground and flayed down to sleep. This meant that Haku was doing what he said, and that was final.  
  
Chihiro smiled a little bit at Haku's stubbornness, and went back to sleep.  
  
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Well, that was it!!! Sorry if it was short. I'm running out of Authoress Powers!!!!! (AAAAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!) Plz review! 


	4. Morning

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for the plot!!!!!!!!!!! (And even that's corny). Everything else belongs to Hayao Miyazaki! Slight x-over in future chapters. With what??? I have no idea!!!!!!!!!^^  
  
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As Haku opened his eyes, and memories of last night came back to him and he smiled. He lay on the blanket that was laid on the ground and smiled.  
  
He slowly got up and happily looked over to Chihiro's sleeping figure. He walked over and looked at his beloved's sleeping face. Chihro was so beautiful, her child ness gone, and now a young woman. He put his fingers on her delicate skin and traced the line of her cheekbone. Chihiro stirred a bit, murmured something about her history class, and went back to sleep.  
  
Haku chuckled and thought for a minute. He should talk to Yubbaba.  
  
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"I know that the girl is back. I was sort of wondering when she would stop lingering and just come here," stated Yubbaba as she merely glanced up from her desk at Haku, who was sitting on the chair just opposite of her.  
  
"Well, thanks to my dear baby, you and the girl is allowed to stay here." sighed Yubbaba.  
  
Haku smiled a soft smiled. 'Thank you baby' thought Haku. He was sure that when baby heard that Chihiro was back, he must've thrown a tantrum, and Yubbaba was vulnerable against her dear boy.  
  
As Haku was about to leave, when Yubbaba spoke to him. "Send the girl up. Don't worry, I won't do anything to her."  
  
Haku, a little relieved but still a bit worried came out of the room.  
  
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(This is what happened during the above conversation.)  
  
Chihiro opened her eyes very slowly and took in the morning light. She sat up in bed and remembered where she was. She looked around to see that nobody was in the room.  
  
Just then, the door opened, and Koji came in, carrying a tray with two sets of breakfast.  
  
"Good morning!" said Koji cheerfully, "I brought us some breakfast!"  
  
Chihiro smiled brightly, and got out a bed. Koji brought out a small low table, set the dishes, and began to eat. They chatted along while eating, about small stuff. Chihiro thought that Koji was a nice boy and that he is a nice friend.  
  
When they had finished, Koji suddenly started chuckling. Chihiro gave him a puzzled look and asked, "What?"  
  
Koji slowed his chuckling and pointed to Chihiro's cheek. "There's a bit of rice on you, and believe me, you look ridiculous." Koji teased.  
  
Chihiro's hand immediately went to her cheek and rubbed a little. Koji smiled and said "No, here."  
  
And with that, Koji's hand went to Chihiro's cheek and rubbed at it gently. It rested there for a while, although Chihiro was pretty sure her cheek was now clean.  
  
At this moment, Haku came in and saw everything. It took a moment for the three of them to sink in to their brains what had happened. Then, Haku's eyes widened, as Chihiro's did. Chihiro stuttered "Haku! It's not- well you see- no, we were just-" But Haku was not listening.  
  
Haku's eyes raged with anger as he stormed up to Koji and lifted him by his collar once more.  
  
If Chihiro hadn't said anything, Koji would not have been with us anymore.  
  
"No! Haku! It's not what you think! I just had-d something on my cheek that's all! PLEASE DON'T HURT ANYBODY!!!!!!" yelled Chihiro.  
  
Haku and Koji were both startled by Chihiro's sudden outburst, and Haku thought for a moment. He scowled at Koji and dropped him. Chihiro sighed a sigh of relief although Haku was still glaring daggers at Koji.  
  
"Chihiro, Yubbaba wants you at her office." said Haku.  
  
Chihiro looked worried for a moment but stood up and left Haku followed after her, grumbling something about his own breakfast.  
  
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Sorry that chappie was so short!!! I made Yubbaba a bit nice, right? Well, I just don't think Yubbaba is as cruel as some people write in their fics, so deal with it!!!!!!!! 


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